UT Arlington ready to welcome students back

In what it's calling "Maverick Stampede: Welcome Week 2011," the University of Texas at Arlington will kick off the fall semester starting Monday.
New this fall are initiatives such as Success U, a two-day minicamp designed to prepare freshmen for academic success, and the Professional Nursing Pathways Program, which provides aspiring nursing students at community colleges a seamless path to earning a bachelor’s degree.
Among next week's highlights:
8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday:Move-in Day. More than 4,400 students who will call residence halls and campus apartments home are invited to move in. UT Arlington President James D. Spaniolo and Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck will help lug in pillows, minifridges and bed linens and to welcome students.
8 a.m.: The new north College Park garage at 100 UTA Blvd., between Pecan and Center streets, opens to students, faculty and staff with valid UT Arlington parking decals. City Electric Supply will demonstrate a new General Electric vehicle charging station on the south end of the garage’s ground level from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. The charging station is Arlington’s first public charging station.
Dusk: First lighting of the new UT Arlington Gateway Tower at South Cooper Street and UTA Boulevard. The new landmark will glow with a Maverick blue light after dark and greet visitors approaching campus from the north.
9:15 a.m. Tuesday: More than 1,000 freshman join for the opening session of Success U, which kicks off with a rally led by Blaze Maverick and the UT Arlington cheerleaders in the E.H. Hereford University Center Bluebonnet Ballroom, 300 W. First St. Sessions continue through 4 p.m. The two-day minicamp offers sessions on effective note taking, best study habits, stress management and Quiz-a-Prof panels during which professors will discuss their expectations and pet peeves.
4 p.m. Wednesday:MavsMeet Convocation at Texas Hall, 701 W. Nedderman Drive. The traditional gathering includes the award-winning UT Arlington Marching Band and remarks by university and student leaders.
Thursday: First day of classes for the fall 2011 semester.

-Patrick M. Walker